ABSTRACT: ADIPOCYTE BIOLOGY and NUTRIENT METABOLISM CORE The purposes of the Adipose Tissue Biology and Nutrient Metabolism Core are to: 1. Facilitate and foster research on mechanisms regulating white, beige and brown adipose tissue mass, distribution, nutrient signaling and depot-specific metabolic and endocrine functions in health and disease. 2. Provide easy and cost-effective access to carefully quality controlled rodent and human preadipocytes and adipocytes, and banked cell and tissues and their products (e.g. RNA, cDNA, tissue or cell lysates, conditioned media). 3. Develop and standardize methods in adipocyte and islet biology as needed by our research base in this rapidly evolving field. 4. Provide consultative advice, support and training for new investigators and established investigators from the nutrition and obesity fields. 5. Provide consultative advice, support and training in the preparation and quality assessment of metabolic tissues including hepatocytes, islets and human fibroblasts. 6. Facilitate and foster the translation of basic research findings from cell and animal models into clinical/translational studies. 7. Organize the Adipose and Metabolic Tissue Seminar Series, which serves as an incubator for new collaborations, and as a training ground for pre-doctoral students and post-doctoral fellows. 8. Organize workshops on controversial topics and the application of new technologies to our field. Services Provided By The Core 1. Adipose tissue procurement and processing 2. Isolation of stromal vascular cells and preparation of adipose stem cells (ASCs) 3. Differentiation of ASCs/preadipocytes into adipocytes: 4. Hormone and cytokine assays. Secretion of adipokines from tissue fragments or cells 5. Dissection and harvest of rodent adipose tissues. 6. Standardized protocols and analytical techniques and advice on optimal methods for metabolic studies (e.g. metabolites, lipolysis, glucose uptake and metabolism, lipogenesis, hormone signaling) Planned New ABM Core Services: ? Cell respiration and bioenergetics with the Seahorse Oxygen Analyzer. ? Mitochondria isolation from rodent liver and fat cells ? Islet isolation from rats or mice by collagenase digestion